"As the news coming out is not very high profile it was probably pieces falling off the wing that doesn't really qualify for a "rea emergency"."

I dont know what your talking about but in any circumstances peices should not be falling off an aircraft from any part. Also the attitude shouldnt be taken that this is not such a big deal because if manegment starts realizing no one really thinks its serious why should they care.

I'll bet it was "just a wing panel coming loose". Although it should not happen, it's a long way off from a cracked wing! If a wing would crack to such an extent that the pax could see it, he [or she] would not live to tell.

If it's only ONE wing panel, its perfectely safe. Airliners are designed and proven safe to fly in this condition. But I admit, if I would witness such an event [having a degree in aeronautical engineering], I don't think I would be 100% comfortable...

The AA pilots and others who demand that an aircraft should be grounded after a crash. Of course the A300 shouldn't be grounded. It's perfectly safe and it's a pretty successful aircraft, even if it is getting old.

Of course, one crash does not make a whole FAMILY unsafe, it's just ignorance that take you that far ( or politics hee hee). I am VERY happy that the 767 was ok, I love the 767 just like I love the A330. Fortunatley, nothing has happened to the newer place except for dumb errors.

This is a post lifted from PPRuNE, which explains the incident, posted by SFly an engineer at Sanford.

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And now for what really happened . .

The aircraft took off from KSFB, and a portion of the tire came apart. It was believed to have gone through a slot in the flaps (as they were obviously still extended). It caused severe damage to the spoiler system on that wing. The passenger in question saw the tire bit come away and alerted the captain, who rightly returned to the airport. The passengers flew out the next day on a subchartered 747 from Air Atlanta and the aircraft was AOG at Orlando Sanford for a few days. The spoiler was damaged pretty badly and Boeing sent a new one from Seattle, which was installed and the aircraft left safely, returning to service with Air 2000.

The passengers were never in any real danger, they were just inconvenienced for a while.

You all know better than to listen to journalist rubbish now don't you?

Wow Crosswind, thanks for the RIGHT information. You really shut these anti-Boeing bastards up with the real information. Thanks alot! (And before I get flamed by the Airbus crowed, I want to let you all know that I have respect for both companies and that competition is what makes both companies great!)

What I was trying to suggest (and what turned out to be true if you are to believe the engineer quoted above) was that once again media is blowing something not very serious out of proportion.
When you read the newspaper report you can get the impression that the whole wing could have fallen off at any time.

Of course it's a big deal if things fall off, but in this case (as I suspected) it was a minor incident caused by a blown tire, which could probably not have been prevented by management.

And Yes, we should keep management alert to all safety and maintenance issues, but we do not do ourselves, the industry or the travelling public any favors by reporting incidents out of proportion and without the proper facts.